The problems relating to the removal of liquid from the mouth during dentistry are well known. Not only does saliva collect in the mouth during a dental operation, but modern, high-speed drills use water as a cooling medium for the tooth surface, thus increasing the amount of liquid in the mouth. It is desirable that such liquid be removed from the mouth during the dental operation, and to this end a number of devices designed to remove said liquid are known. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,937,455 and 3,090,122, both to Erickson. These prior art devices are of greatest use in the reclining patient and are intended to cover the throat opening and to remove liquid trapped in a central depressed area of the device.
These devices, however, have the disadvantage of being expensive to manufacture and therefore must be reused by the dentist, with all the difficulties attending such reuse. Thus, the device must be sterilized between uses, must be maintained in a sterile condition until use, and must be kept in a sufficiently large inventory to allow time for such sterilization.
Moreover, these prior art devices are generally of bulky construction and are uncomfortable in use, thereby irritating the patient during their use.
In addition, many of the prior art devices are limited in their application and can be used on only one side of the mouth. Therefore, it is necessary to keep twice as many of these prior art devices on hand as would otherwise be necessary.
A further disadvantage of these prior art devices is that they do not generally allow isolation of the buccal side of the teeth, and additional devices, such as cotton rolls, must be used.